Blount High student brings loaded gun to school; no one injured

Prichard Police are looking for a Blount High School student who brought a loaded gun to school today.

Because the student is a minor, police would not release the name.

No students were injured. The school was placed in lock-down mode earlier today.

A 9 millimeter semi-automatic pistol was found in the student's backpack.

A teacher had overheard a conversation that "sounded suspicious," according to Mobile County schools spokeswoman Nancy Pierce. That teacher notified administrators, who came to the classroom.

The student, who is in the ninth grade, and his belongings were taken into the hallway. As an administrator searched the backpack, the student fled the school and ran into the nearby woods, according to Pierce.

Prichard Police Chief Jimmie Gardner said this afternoon that police are in the process of trying to identify and make contact with the student.

Blount High is located on Lott Road in the northwest outskirts of Prichard. It has about 1,200 students.